Sheriff said domestic violence is “a private matter, a family matter.” group puts up billboard

Mirkarimi-inspired domestic violence awareness billboard on its way

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's words will be rebutted on a billboard in a week, thanks to an online donation campaign.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi might spot some familiar comments if he drives through the intersection of 10th and Harrison streets next week.

The fundraising effort to put up a domestic violence awareness billboard reached its $4,000 goal Thursday afternoon, which means the billboard should be in place Wednesday, said Kathy Black, director of La Casa de las Madres, a San Francisco shelter for victims of domestic violence.

The billboard’s message — “Domestic Violence is NEVER a private matter” — is a reference to Mirkarimi’s comment last month that the alleged domestic violence against his wife, Eliana Lopez, is “a private matter, a family matter.”

La Casa raised the money in three days through LoudSauce, a San Francisco crowdfunding platform for buying media space like billboards.